


Will and Keelia

by Ziegles



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Abandonment, Crimes & Criminals, Gen, Orphans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-30
Updated: 2014-10-30
Packaged: 2018-02-23 06:18:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2537312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ziegles/pseuds/Ziegles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Twenty year old college student William Lucas has the ability to talk to Pokémon. At the end of a particularly bad day he meets a wounded Eevee, and the two quickly form a bond. Little do they know a path of adventure and discovery awaits them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Bad Day

**Author's Note:**

> Well, here it is, my first story. I've had this idea and I've been wanting to get it down and see what people think. So please, rate/review and I'll appreciate greatly! Also, I'm going to (attempt) to write 50,000 words unto this story during the month of November this year as part of National Novel Writing Month...bye-bye social life.

At 7:30 in the morning the alarm clock on my nightstand came to life as it began blasting its dreaded beeping sound. I was pulled from my land of dreams with a long displeased groan. My hand shot out from under the covers and found the button that would turn off the beeping that was filling my room. I opened my eyes after a few short moments of peace to take in my surroundings. I was of course in the only bedroom of my apartment. I never was really big on having decoration so it was a plain, functional space. The faint grey light coming from a window revealed the plain walls, furniture, and carpet in the square room.

With a sigh, I got up and began my pre-work morning routine. I stepped into the bathroom that was connected to my room. Again this place was plain and functional as well. In the mirror I saw my unkempt long black hair, deep green eyes, and scraggly facial hair. I was never much of a morning person but I did know that a hot shower worked wonders on my mood. After standing below the jet of steaming hot water I felt better about the long day that was before me.

I walked out into the main area of my apartment after showering to get something for breakfast. The space was modestly furnished with a few couches, a small TV, and an upright piano. At the far corner of the room was a small kitchen area where I opened my fridge to find expired milk and bad eggs. I sighed and just decided to just have some orange juice.

I had put on my work uniform after showering so now all I needed to do was put on my shoes and a jacket before heading off to work. With this done, I grabbed my bike helmet and keys and headed out into the hall. After descending a few flights of stairs I reached the bike rack just next to the exit door. I looked out through the small pane of glass in the door to see the very rainy January morning. I really didn’t want to go to my job as a produce stocker in a local supermarket, but it kept the bills paid and I really had no choice. At least today was Saturday and I didn’t have class to go to as well. Without any further delay, I pedaled out into the rain.

\----------

Now, before I get too far ahead of myself on what happened on this particularly uncheerful day, I think I should tell you all a little bit about myself. My name is William Lucas and I come from Olivine City in the Johto Region. At the onset of this story I lived in an apartment on the outskirts of Goldenrod City. I am an only child and I lived with my dad in Olivine until I moved out when college started. I never knew my mother that well because she died of a rare disease when I was quite young.

Now that I am 20, I look back and see just how different I was from my peers. Nearly every single one of my friends had opted to drop out of school and become trainers, with the majority leaving on the last day of elementary school. I have to admit that I like pokemon and appreciate them, but I never wanted to battle them. I was the quirky kid who liked to read and play music. People would often describe me as being mild, meek, and quiet. But it wasn’t just my introverted disposition that set me apart from my shrinking group of friends…and this is where things get a little weird.

I have always had the ability to talk to pokemon. It is beyond being able to make sense of their yips and yelps; it is something deeper in my psyche. It was as if each pokemon I talked to had a unique human-like voice. Regardless of how it works, I really love having this gift. As a child I would just go out into the woods and fields and talk and play with the wild pokemon. Even as a college student living in my apartment in Goldenrod, I would do the same thing in the adjacent woods and fields.

Through talking and playing with pokemon over the years, I think that I have gained a perspective of their world that few other people have. They have a rather orderly social structure, especially at the family level. I first noticed this when I was a child playing with wild pokemon children. After long hours of play, their mothers would always come get them and take them back to their homes in the forests and plains. It bothered me that trainers would at times forcefully capture these creatures and ruin their families and relationships. The pokemon I talked to were somewhat spilt on the issue. Some wanted to have their skills honed and live the good life under the care of a trainer. Others would react with hostility at the sight of any human because they did not want to become some human’s plaything.

Unfortunately, sometimes people can be very ignorant to what pokemon are. Pokemon are amazing, intelligent creatures! It pains me greatly to see trainers and many others treating pokemon like either pets or tools, rather than giving them the equal standing that they deserve…but I digress. Now that who I am is out of the way, I can get back to that particularly bad day.

\----------

I glanced at my watch before setting the last of the berries onto the fresh fruit display. I had just a few more minutes left in my shift. I was exhausted and just wanted this day to be over. Pedaling for ten minutes in the frigid downpour this morning would have been bad enough. However, I arrived at job in the produce department to find that one of my co-workers had called out. This had forced me to work double time all day long.

I sighed in relief as I punched out on the time clock, having finished my work for the day. I pulled my jacket on and stepped outside into the rainy dusk. Soon I reached the bike rack and unlocked my bicycle with quickly numbing fingers. It was easily below freezing as I rode out toward home in the icy, grey drizzle. There was a strong smell of damp pavement as I pedaled through the city blocks on my way to the apartment. As I neared it, the buildings became fewer and more spread out and the road began to go over several hills.

Just one more hill and I’ll be home, I thought to myself. Thoughts of relaxation of hot tea and playing some piano filled my mind as rode the momentum of the second to last hill on my commute. In my day dreaming I noticed an old rusty truck about to go through a large puddle. This puddle happened to be a few yards in front of me, and I suppose that something in my brain just did not connect the dots. I was soon on a crash course with a sizable wall of water. I cursed out loud while trying to get away from the huge splash of dirty, frigid water that was created by the passing vehicle. Though I managed to maneuver my way out of getting even more soaked, I had made my evasive maneuver too sharp. This caused the bike to slip out from under me and tumble down a steep gravel lane between two houses.

Slightly dazed, I got up from the cold concrete having sustained bad scratches on my left arm. My nice jacket was torn up in a few places from the wreck. I looked down the alley and saw my bicycle sliding at little further before coming to a stop next to a trash heap. Convinced that this day was doing everything in its power to get me down, I made my way down the alley. The stinging in my arm was slowly getting worse as I came upon my bike. Thankfully, it seemed to be in okay shape, so I reached down and pulled it upright. As I was about to walk back up the hill with my bike, I heard a strange sound. I turned around and looked for the source of it. Above the drone of the cold rainfall I thought I heard a small squeak. It was barely audible and I wasn’t too keen on lingering around much longer to find out. But as I turned to head back up the gravel lane, I heard it again. Faint, yes, but definitely there. This time I also heard where it came from.

I looked on in confusion at a pile of trash bags and cardboard boxes at the side of the lane. It was weird but I could have sworn I heard a sort of yipping sound coming from it. My curiosity getting the best of me, I popped the kick-stand on the bike and stepped over toward the rubbish pile. Again I heard a noise, but this time I could tell it was coming from within one of the partially frozen boxes.

“Is something there?” I asked in the direction of the boxes.

Much to my surprise, I heard in an almost indiscernible whimper, “no no no, please, no!” The voice was that of a little girl.

“A-Are you okay?” I said with concern, which was met with the voice from the box saying, “G-g-g-go away!” The voice seemed to be broken up by rapid shivers. I was genuinely concerned though, and had no plans of just leaving whoever this was.

What could you be? It certainly was not a person, perhaps it was a pokemon? That would not make very much sense though; what would a wild pokemon be doing in this part of the city? Without much further thought, I reached out and lifted the cardboard box.

A bushy brown mass swiftly scampered underneath the other mounds of trash. I could see it shivering there, peeking out from behind a bag of garbage. In its eyes I could see a mixture of contempt and terror.

“Go away, go away, go away,” the little creature whimpered.

“I’m not going away until I know you are alright. Why are you shivering?” I said.

The little eevee furrowed its brow in anger, “B-because it’s freezing cold out here, y-you moron!”

I chuckled a bit at the small canine’s retort, “Yeah, I’ll give that to you, that was kinda stupid.” At my comment, the eevee’s countenance changed slightly; some of the fear and contempt was replaced with confusion and intrigue. She stared at me with this expression for a few moments, the rain still falling around us.

“You-you can un-understand me?” she asked still maintaining an edge of anger in her voice.

“Yes, I in fact can,” I said with the best reassuring face I could make. “How about we start with names? I’m Will.”

The little creature averted its eyes for a moment and said in a barely audible voice, “K-Keelia…”

“Oh, Keelia. That’s a very nice name,” I said in a kind voice. I could see her eyes soften a bit more at my compliment. She also stepped out from behind the trash bag so I could properly see her. Keelia was a full grown eevee with the usual brown and cream colored fur, although there was something off about her. The fur coat of an eevee is usually shiny and full. But as I looked at Keelia’s, I saw that it was matted and dull. Her brown eyes were slightly bloodshot as if she had been crying. She was a little on the thin side as well. Even with her fur that would be keeping her warm in this weather, she was still shivering. It was at this moment that I remembered I had a fruit and grain bar in my jacket pocket. I reached into my pocket and found that it was not completely crushed by my fall earlier.

“Would you like something to eat? You look like you need something,” I inquired of the little vixen. She was a bit hesitant though and did not come any closer. She wore a face of conflicted emotions.

“So…you d-don’t want to h-hurt me and cram m-me inside a red and w-white ball?” Keelia said, the fear from earlier very evident on her face.

“Of course not! Why would I do that? That’d be cruel!” I replied, trying to be as genuine as possible for this scared pokemon. Apparently I am very trustworthy or I just said something right, because she then cautiously began to approach me. “It’s okay Keelia, I really won’t hurt you,” I said gently as I slowly knelt down and offered the snack to her. She approached the rest of the way and was soon ravenously consuming the berry bar. She soon finished it and stood for moment licking her chops

“Um…I’m s-sorry for b-being mean earlier, I-I just don’t t-trust humans m-much anymore,” she said bashfully, avoiding my eyes. Before I could completely process what she meant by that, I felt the little vixen nuzzle up against my hand. “B-but somehow, I know I-I can trust you.”

I looked down a Keelia with a warm smile, which she returned with her own weaker one and another nuzzle. I was slightly alarmed when I felt her press up against my hand, for beneath her damp fur, she was burning up! I understood why she was shivering; she had a fever for some reason! I pulled my hand away, which made Keelia look up at me with a surprised expression.

“Keelia! You’re burning up, you have a fever!” I said with worry in my voice. “I think you might need to go to the pokemon center.” Her long ears flattened and she took a couple steps back at my statement.

“B-but there are m-more people there! Don’t make me go!” cried Keelia. In response I gently took her furry head in between my hands.

“I won’t let anyone hurt you or take you. I want to see you get better, okay?” I whispered to her caringly.

“Ok…I’ll go. Thanks,” she said nuzzling against my hand again. Without much further discussion, I scooped up Keelia in one hand eliciting a yip from the eevee. I went over to my bike and, with my other hand, began to walk it up the gravel lane. As I walked, I noticed something mauve on Keelia’s belly. There were four infected-looking scars in her flesh across her brown underside. That must have been what caused her fever. Just another reason to get her to the pokemon center! When I reached the top of the lane, I mounted my bicycle and turned back toward the heart of the city. Before taking off, I unzipped the front of my jacket and slipped Keelia down inside between my shirt and jacket. With Keelia’s trembling body curled up safely, I took off toward town with as must vigor as my cold, tired body could muster.

I had been to a pokemon center before, but it had been a long while since. Once on a hiking trip with my dad we stopped at one in Ecruteak City. Never would I have guessed that I would need to go to the one here in Goldenrod. I only vaguely knew its location; it was somewhere a few blocks to the south of the grocery store that I work at. After a few minutes, I could see the big glowing pokeball sign up ahead that marked the location of the pokemon center. I pedaled over to it, still feeling Keelia’s little body shivering unceasingly. I picked Keelia out of my jacket and parked my bike next to the entrance.

Harsh florescent light coupled with clean white floor tiles greeted me as I stepped through the automatic doors. Keelia pressed a bit firmer up against chest. A pink haired nurse stood ready to attend to me.

“Good evening! Welcome to the Goldenrod City Pokemon Center! How may I help you?” she said with a bright voice that betrayed the current weather.

“Good evening, can you heal this eevee? She has a fever and some infected scars,” I replied.

“Of course, I’ll have it healed up in a jiffy!” the cheery nurse said as she reached out her hands to take Keelia. Keelia whined and pressed herself even closer to my chest. Seeing this, I gently reassured her.

“Keelia, it’s okay, she will help you. Please trust me,” I spoke softly to her. She resisted for a few more seconds, but then she relented and allowed herself to be taken into the nurse’s arms. She glanced back at me with a worried expression before disappearing behind the operating room door. I nervously paced back and forth in front of the counter for what felt like hours before finally the nurse returned with Keelia sleeping in her arms.

“I applied a spray medicine for her flesh wounds and an antibiotic for her fever. She has to sleep for the medicine to work fully, but she will wake up tomorrow morning looking and feeling great!” the beaming nurse said. “But I did notice that she is still wild. If you want, I can keep her until morning and then release her. But if you want to take her now, you can go right ahead.”

 

I mean not to get too sentimental here, but this decision that was before me was extremely important. Looking back, it literally changed the course of my life. The path I was heading on at the time had no room for pokemon or adventuring. I was supposed to finish college and get a nice job! As I looked at that sleeping eevee however, I knew I just had to take her.

 

“Thank you, but I think I’ll take her with me!” I said as I took Keelia into my arms. Without another word, I walked out of the pokemon center into the cold night air. The rain had stopped and the clouds parted to reveal the bright moon as I headed home with my newest friend. Maybe it was not such a bad day after all.

 


	2. Key

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will returns home with Keelia and has a very strange dream. It is soon forgotten as the two spend the next day bonding as friends.

The contents of the mostly empty medicine cabinet were revealed as I opened the mirror door. My hand hovered over a few pill bottles and bandage boxes until I spotted a small blue box that read “gauze.” The bike injury that I received earlier had practically flown from my mind because of certain recent events. Speaking of recent events, I looked up from bandaging my arm to briefly glance at the sleeping pokemon on my bed. Keelia, my newest friend.

I was surprised that she warmed up to me as fast as she did. Thinking back to the many encounters I have had with wild pokemon over the years, it was easy for me to be surprised. When a wild pokemon doesn’t like you or any humans for that matter, it is difficult to move them from that stance. I half expected Keelia to run away or attack me like many others have, but she seemed different.

Having finished bandaging my arm, I turned off the lights and sat down on my bed. The only light in the room was the soft, silver moonlight that flitted between the curtains. I looked over again at Keelia’s bushy form at the foot of my bed. I felt the same feeling as when I chose to take her at the pokemon center. It was this sort of feeling that I could not pinpoint, but it told me something. It told me that somehow we were meant to find each other, and that together both of our lives would be changed in ways that we never expected. I ceased my musings for the time in favor of sleep. Carefully, I settled myself under the covers so as not to knock the sleeping eevee off my bed. Only a few moments after I laid my head on the pillow, I felt my mind drifting into the void of sleep.

\----------

I sat up and opened my eyes. Immediately, I shut them again. For some reason, I was in a brightly lit room! After taking a few moments to allow my vision to adjust to the harsh light, I looked around. I was sitting at a desk with a phone and computer in some sort of office. I could not tell why, but everything was blurry and it seemed as though my senses were muted. As I took in my blurred surroundings, I could have sworn that the walls were getting closer to me. I would turn one way, then look back. By the time I looked back, the wall was definitely closer. In a matter of moments, the walls had come within inches of my chair and the desk on all sides. I began to panic, and I did the only thing I could do to get out of this situation. I closed my eyes. At that moment, I felt myself falling into blackness.

Suddenly, I was standing in the center of a clearing with trees surrounding me. Confused, I looked around at the lush forest barring me on sides. It took a few moments, but I realized that I had fallen from my bizarre office dream into this oddly vivid one. I could feel the cool forest breeze on my skin, see the verdant woodland around me in exquisite detail, and smell the damp scent of exposed soil.

From somewhere behind me, I heard a stifled giggle. I turned to see Keelia poking her head through a bush with a small smirk on her face. Without an exchange of words, somehow we both knew what would happen next. Keelia turned and bolted off into the forest. On some kind of instinct, I felt my legs propel me after her. What a dream! Just me and Keelia laughing as we played an endless simple game of tag in the woods.

There was something more though, something strangely fulfilling about our little game. It was as if some long-dormant desire had awoken within me. I, for lack of a better word, just felt…free. Really free for the first time in what felt like forever. It was great.

Some far-off crashing noise pulled me from the dream.

\----------

With a long yawn, I opened my eyes to see streaks of sunlight laying across my bedroom. The dreams I just had felt like they had lasted a few minutes, and they were just bizarre! They also seemed to stay in my memory like they were actual things I did a few minutes before. When I awoke from other dreams, it always felt like the memory of it was slipping away with every minute that I was awake. Still after a few moments of pondering this, I could recall every detail of the dreams. The appearance of Keelia in the doorway pulled me from my thoughts.

“Good morning Keelia, how are you feeling?” I asked, the sleep still clear in my voice. Keelia did not respond, she just slowly walked up to the left side of bed with her head hung.

“I broke something in there,” she gestured with her head toward the living room, “I’m sorry Will, but my tail is bushy and I wasn’t looking and-”

“I think I know what you’re talking about Keelia, and it’s okay, I understand. I’m not mad at you.” I said caringly, recalling that I left a glass on the living room table. “I’ll go clean it up.” Keelia would occasionally sneak bashful glances up at me as I got up and made my way to the living room. Sure enough, scattered across the floor beneath the coffee table were several pieces of sharp glass.

“Keelia, it really isn’t that big of a deal. I shouldn’t have left the thing out to begin with,” I said, having finished sweeping up the mess without a word from Keelia.

“Thanks, I just didn’t want to upset you since you were nice enough to take me in. I didn’t want to be a burden. You have shown me that humans can be nice, and that’s something that I’ve never experienced,” she said after a moment, looking me in the eyes.

“You’ll never be a burden to me, but I think you’ll find that I can be a burden to you. It’s just sort of my personality,” I said with a laugh, which earned a laugh from Keelia too.

“Much better!” Keelia said after I dumped the broken shards of glass into the trashcan.

“Hmm? Much better?” I asked.

“Yeah, much better! You asked me how I was feeling a few minutes ago. I’m feeling much better, thanks!”

“That’s great to hear Keelia, I was really worried about you.”

There were a few moments with me taking in the beautiful morning through the window and Keelia shuffling from paw to paw.

“Uh, I gotta pee Will,” Keelia said shyly.

“Well, I don’t think you’d be too keen on using the toilet, so how about we go for a morning walk? It looks gorgeous out there.”

“Sure that sounds good! But what’s a toilet?” Keelia yipped.

I laughed for a bit as I went and got my jacket. “I’ll tell you later, after our walk I’ll give you the grand tour!” I said making a sweeping gesture with a hand. Without much further preparation, we went out the door and down the stairs. Soon we were walking across the parking lot toward the woods. The morning air was crisp and the sky was a clear blue without a single cloud. Winters in the Johto region were not much, usually just cold rain and rarely a bit of snow, and this one was no exception. It was not going to be cold for much longer, and this beautiful day was just an indicator of that.

We made our way down a little path in the woods that led to a small creek. Keelia, finding a suitable place to relieve herself, trotted off the path. With a few moments to myself, I examined my jacket where it was torn up. This jacket was still usable, but it had an oval-shaped hole running the full length of my left forearm. I pulled up the damaged sleeve so I could check the gauze that was wrapped around the scratches beneath. The gauze wrapping looked good without any visible bloodstains showing through. That was good, but it still stung somewhat and was sore to the touch. I guess it was more bruised that anything else.

“That was one reason that I decided to trust you, Will.” Keelia had returned from her business and was now speaking to me with a small smile on her face. I chuckled at this remark.

“You decided to trust me because I was an idiot and crashed my bike,” I snorted.

“No, it was because you seemed to ignore your injury and cared more about my well-being than your own. It was then a little bit easier to trust you,” she said, still giving me the small smile. In her eyes I could see genuine respect.

“Well, I’m humbled that you think of me like that. I’m sure anyone else who was in my situation would have done the same thing. You’re just too darn cute!” I replied, reaching down and ruffling the little normal-type’s head fur. She giggled and pawed a little bit at her spiky head fur, bringing it back into a comfortable level of messy.

“There’s something more though, some other reason that I knew I could trust you. I feel like…we’re connected in some sort of way. I don’t know, but when I look at you, I have this feeling that we were maybe meant to find each other. And there is also this weird, almost pulling, that tells me our lives will never be the same just because we met each other. I don’t know, I’m weird I guess,” Keelia said in an oddly wistful voice that was very out of character for her.

“I suppose that we can be weird together, because I feel the same way!” though I was a bit confused myself that we had felt the same way about this. I dismissed it though, and filed it in my brain somewhere behind that first chemistry exam. “Okay, I think we should be heading back now, you look like you could use a good bath!” It was true, though she may have been feeling well, her coat was still looking quite muddy and matted.

A cool morning breeze washed over us as we walked back to the apartment complex. When we got back up my apartment, I gave Keelia the grand tour of the whole 3 rooms that make up the space. I do not think that she had ever been in this sort of human home before, and many things were new to her. This made what was supposed to be a very brief tour last far longer because I had to explain why I had so many “weird” things as she put it. She was especially confused when I got around to explaining what the toilet was used for. After that, we settled down for a bit of breakfast. The hardy meal consisted of a couple of those fruit and grain bars that I fed to Keelia the previous night.

“So, how about that bath now?” I said while throwing away the fruit bar wrappers.

“Sure, I love water!” she yipped in reply. She then ran across the room excitedly, and was already sitting on the edge of the tub by the time I entered the bathroom.

“Sorry, but I only have this ‘people’ shampoo, but it should still work,” I said a little louder than normal because of the hot water gushing into the tub.

“It’s okay, it will still feel great!” she said excitedly as she jumped into the steaming water. As the water got deeper, she began to swim around in a little circle. Occasionally her tail would flick around and sling water in my direction. I would respond by flicking some water at her myself, but it was hardly effective as she was soaked already. After she had settled down a little, I began to lather up her fur. Filth that had built up in her thick fur ebbed away into the water as I continued my work. Every now and then, I would get a giggle and a squirm from the eevee when I got to a ticklish spot. Eventually, I finished and dried her off.

“Sorry, but only human stuff in my household,” I chuckled, brushing Keelia’s fur with my own hairbrush. She did not seem to mind, although it probably was a bit uncomfortable for her with her think fur. Satisfied with my work, I picked her up and held her in front of the mirror so she could see her reflection.

“Much better now, right?” I asked.

“Right! Thanks!” she replied cheerfully. She was admiring her now shiny and full coat in the mirror with a smirk on her fuzzy face.

So the rest of that day went on, quite unlike most other Sunday afternoons at my apartment. The introduction of a new friend, a pokemon no less, had added a brightness to my day that went beyond the inherent charm of it. The weather was great, and I had no homework to do. What better could I ask for? Well, I found that answer in Keelia.

\----------

The sun was setting gracefully over Goldenrod city; the beautiful day was fabulously brought to a close by a vivid display of colors painting the sky. Keelia and I were on another walk as we took in the great view of the sunset through the trees. The sunset was beautiful and all, but the day was ending. Its beauty was somewhat muted in my mind. In no time at all, it would be Monday again and I would have to fall back into the rut of routine.

After a few more minutes, we headed back to the apartment. I was feeling even more down when we got back, and Keelia had noticed.

“Hey Will, what’s wrong?” she asked. Bless her heart, she was actually concerned about me.

“Nothing really, I just have a lot of human things to do this week starting tomorrow. I get burned out on them because they are repetitive and stressful. I see how free you are, and it makes me realize the truth that I don’t always enjoy what I do. But I really shouldn’t be complaining about this. It’s nothing, really,” I said tiredly, staring off into space. I needed to unwind, and I knew exactly what would help with that. I turned to Keelia who had a concerned complexion, “Do you want to hear me play some piano?” I asked with a small smile appearing on my face.

“I guess…what is a piano again?” She asked with a cute, puzzled expression.

“Here, I’ll show you,” I said with a grin, walking over to the old upright piano. It may have been old and beaten up, but it was tuned well and was a pleasure to play on. I lifted the wooden cover to reveal the black and white keys. I seated myself on the bench in front of it and positioned my hands. Keelia hopped up next to me.

“What are you going to do?” Keelia asked, looking at my hands and then back at my face.

“Just listen,” was my reply. I began to play. My cares and worries proceeded to fade away as the music flowed from my hands. It always worked this sort of magic on my mood. It was because in those moments of playing, nothing in the world mattered. It was just me and the music that was flowing from me. The next riff, the next chord, and the next melody; that was all that mattered. I finished my first piece feeling relaxed.

“That was cool!” Keelia said, her eyes wide and her long ears standing up.

“Thanks, it’s just something I like to do in my free time! I have found that it really helps me relax,” I said modestly.

“Really, that is cool! How does this thing work anyway?” she said leaning forward and examining the keys. She then reached out and touched one, then pressed down. When it made a sound, her ears jumped and she grinned. Soon she was using both of her front paws and hitting random notes. It did not exactly sound too great, but she was having a blast.

“Hey, I just thought of a good nickname for you! That is, if you wouldn’t mind,” I said eagerly.

“Huh? And what would that be?” She said with a sideways glance from her playing.

“Key,” I said proudly, “You really seem to love these piano keys, so it makes sense right?”

“Key? I like it! You can call me that as much as you want!” she replied, grinning.

The next couple hours consisted of me teaching Key how to play simple little songs with varying degrees of success. The cares of tomorrow seemed not so big when I saw how much fun she was having. This is funny, because I always considered myself to be a very boring person. Eventually, I managed to pull her away from the piano because it was starting to get late. I had learned from a very grumpy elderly man across the hall to not play the piano after dark.

We went out for one last walk for the night, and on the way back I tried to start up a conversation.

“Hey Key, were you traveling alone before I found you? And for that matter, do you think your family will start to wonder where you are?” I asked. What I got in response was not what I was expecting at all. I heard a little whine, which got me to look down intently at the now prone form of Keelia on the ground.

She was crying.

“Whoa, Keelia! Are you okay? Did you get hurt?” I asked with sudden concern. I knelt down and examined her body. There were no scratches or bumps anywhere, so why was she crying?

Suddenly, it all made sense. Her comment about the red and white ball from yesterday, her fear of humans, the scars on her belly…it all made sense. I did not know the exact details, but I was sure of one thing. She had an encounter with the worst type of person, a careless trainer.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed, please rate/comment. I'll be happy with anything you have to say :D


	3. Separated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keelia divulges the story of her past. Warning: dem feels tho

(Keelia)

Will’s question hit me like a ton of bricks. I had been trying to seem strong, but I knew deep down that I was scarred by recent events. I know that he had told me that I would never be a burden, but I really just wanted to carry this weight on my own. Like the little girl I still was, I fell apart when he brought up that question. I was supposed to be tough, I was going to evolve soon! With Will though, saving face did not matter. I felt as though I could tell him everything, and it would be okay. So after a long few minutes of sobbing and sniffling, I replied to his question in a shaky voice.

“I-I was hoping that this wouldn’t come up now, but it seems unavoidable. Please don’t think any less of me, I didn’t mean to break down like this.”

“Oh Keelia,” Will said softly. I looked up and caught his eyes. They were deep green, and brimming with concern. “What happened to you?”

“I-uh…It’s a long story,” is all I managed to get out. Though I was finding it difficult to speak right then, my personal resistance was becoming weaker. I was going to tell him everything. “Can we go back to your den? I’ll tell you everything,” I said quietly, still feeling no less downcast.

“Yeah Key, we’ll go back. And, thanks,” He said, “Allow me.” I looked up again to see his beaming face as he scooped me up into his arms. I was just a little too depressed to be surprised, and I just laid limp in his arms for the duration of the trip back to the apartment. I really should have thanked him or acknowledged him or something, but I was too caught up in trying to figure out how to tell him everything. In no time at all it seemed, we were back in his apartment. So we sat and I told him all about what was bothering me and why I was alone. Whenever I would feel the pain coming back, I would stop and we would sit there for a few minutes until I could move on. I will spare the details of what I actually said, because that would be me just reciting the babbling mess I spewed out onto Will. Here is a more level-headed version of what I told Will that night.

\---------------

Tall grasses buffed be on all sides as I searched for my prize. I could have sworn that I had caught wind of it somewhere around there. I paused for a moment, closing my eyes and allowing my sense of smell to take precedence. After a few moments, I smiled and raised my head, having determined the direction I needed to go.

“Aspear Berries,” I muttered to myself as I stole away into the wall of foliage.

Today was a winter day quite similar to many others, I was out foraging for food for my mother and I. Berries were rare around this time of year, so I was very lucky to have found some, especially Aspear berries. They had this wonderful warming effect, and the tart taste was to die for. They weren’t easy to find, as they were tucked away down in a small creek hollow that had almost never had a breeze blowing through it. Fortunately for me, the winds were blowing in an odd way today, so I had managed to catch the alluring scent from the hollow. My mother and I had been traveling around, so I didn’t know the area too well. That didn’t discourage me from following my nose wherever it took me; it never failed me.

I burst through the tall grass into a narrow stretch of forest bordered on both sides by a small creek. That heavenly aroma of the berries was especially strong now as I trotted against the breeze. The creek proved to be no problem as I hopped quickly from one rock to the other. Upon reaching the top of the creek bank, I saw the scraggly aspear berry bush directly in the middle of the tiny stretch of forest. There were maybe a couple dozen of the fruits in total. Almost all of them were plump, yellowish-green, and ready to eat. I wasted no time plucking them off by the bundles of 2 that they grew in. In all, I managed to get six of the large berries by their stems hanging out of my mouth. Feeling satisfied, I turned around and headed back to where I knew my mother was.

On my walk back to the little encampment, there was a bit of extra pip in my step that didn’t come from the score with the aspear berries. I mean, yeah, I was pretty happy that I had found them, but something much more important was on my mind. I was going to have the choice to evolve soon at a ceremony my family participated in. In fact, we had just said goodbye to my dad the day before. He was going to make the journey to Mount Silver, where the ceremony was being held so that he could make preparations and gather the kin. My father was an Umbreon named Brennen. He was stoic and collected, a true warrior and leader of this loose group of our kind across the Johto region. March was not coming fast enough, as that was when the ceremony always was.

With berries in tow, I made my way through the grassy field. The wind had changed slightly, and now I was catching whiffs of my mother’s scent. She was likely making a small den for us to sleep in tonight. We had travelled a day’s walk from our normal home near a human city to see Dad off, so this was the best that we could do. My mother…she would be so happy to see me coming back with the aspear berries. She was such a great mom, and I loved her so much. She was a beautiful Espeon by the name of Vui. She was so protective and kind to me, and exuded a certain grace and regality. I would wager that she is one of the strongest Espeons in the world too! I wanted to evolve and be strong just like her! I could not wait!

My ears stood up and the fur on my neck bristled before I even knew what was happening. I caught something on the wind that was not mom’s scent, and it was coming from just up ahead. Right where I knew my mom was. I slowed my pace and got low to the ground, dropping the aspear berries for the time being. Running on instinct, I stalked up a gentle slope up to the clearing where my mother was setting up camp. It was at this point that I could identify the scent. It was a human…just a human. I relaxed a little bit, remembering all the times that human trainers had tried to cross my mother. It never ended well for them.

Soon, I reached the top of the slope and almost walked right into the clearing. I expected my mother to be standing proudly against whoever this human was. What I saw deeply worried me. There was the human standing with his back to me on my side of the clearing. He was wearing, for some reason, all grey clothing. He simply stood there between me and my mother. My mother was standing on the far side of the clearing, eyeing the man wearily. I realized that something was wrong when I saw her expression. It was of terror and pain. Her beautiful purple eyes were screaming silently at the sight of this man. This confused and worried me greatly. She would have no problem dispatching this person’s captured pokemon just like every other time, right? The man took a step forward and pulled out one of those red and white capturing devices that humans used. My mom took a step back at this, and then another. What was going on with her, she could take this guy! It was then in my mind that I began to hear her stress thoughts.

If my mom ever became very worried, angry, or stressed out, she would have these weird things start coming out of her brain that we called stress thoughts. It was something that ran in the family if you chose to evolve into a psychic. The normal telepathic communication that my mother would sometimes use would become a flood of her personal thoughts in these times of stress. It was as if a filter in her telepathic link was removed and everything just started rushing to anyone that was nearby.

I could feel them now, flying at me like angry Beedrills. I staggered a little bit as I began to make sense of them. I could hear ~Where is Keelia?~ and ~They’re back…oh no they’re back! How are they back!?~ and ~Don’t take her! NO-I can’t lose her! Where is my little girl!?~ over and over again layering over each other. There was one other thought that I could not quite understand, but it was the clearest among the chaotic noise in my mind. It was some sort of word that started with an “a,” but I could not make sense of it. I was pulled from my mind by a loud masculine voice; I was hearing it with my actual ears.

“Heheh…That’s right! You better believe it! We ARE back!” the man in grey cackled. “And you are exactly what we need right now! Now just calm down and don’t resist if you know what is good for you!”

My mother’s stress thoughts quieted down as she regained focus. I had no idea what this man had meant by this, but it had begun to boil my mother’s anger. I could see a fire in her eyes as she stared down this man. She must have been speaking telepathically with him, because he soon laughed and yelled back at her.

“I don’t give a shit about your daughter, bitch! I told you, it is you that I’m after!” he retorted angrily. My mom began to growl at the man. The gem on her head started to glow as she charged up an attack. “Oh, so that’s how it’s going to be, eh? Fine! Go! Zoroark!” the man bellowed as he threw the ball that was in his hand.

My brain barely registered what happened next. There was a flash as the man in grey’s pokemon was released. I only caught a glimpse of its form before it disappeared. It was some sort of black and red bi-pedal fox. It vanished though, and I was confused. Was there a problem with the capturing device? I got my answer when I saw the fox thing re-appear behind my mother and deliver a blow to her side. She cried out and tumbled several feet before coming to a stop.

“No!” I yelped. I could not help it. This was not going the way it should have been going! Luckily, no one seemed to hear me.

My mom shot back up and growled ferociously. Her lavender fur was dirty in spots, which I knew from experience was something that she would not stand for. She became a blur as she moved in for an attack on this strange pokemon. Normally at this point, the trainer would start barking orders at his pokemon. As I watched, he simply just stood there watching the battle with a smug expression. My mom made contact with the fox with her head-butt attack that I was sure would knock the thing out, but something was wrong. The fox that she hit simply disappeared into a puff of smoke. Confused, she saw what was happening a split-second too late. The fox appeared several feet away with a fully charged shadow ball attack. It leveled the ball of ghostly energy and fired before my mother could react. I watched in terror as my mother was blasted off her feet in a cloud of dust and forest debris. The force of the impact nearly knocked me off my feet as well. After the dust had settled, I looked on at the battlefield and saw my mother on the ground bloodied and bruised. She was not moving. The man and the odd fox chuckled at this.

“NO!” I shouted as I dashed forward in the glowing energy of a quick attack. Something in my head just sort of snapped. I had never seen my mother take a hit like that. Maybe if I could just catch that black fox by surprise, I could help my mom out. I was getting strong! I could do it! In a couple of seconds I was up top of the surprised fox. My head impacted the fox’s chest, and I heard a couple of ribs break. There was a grunt and a growl as the fox staggered backward. Yes! I had done it! Now it was time to follow up! I was going to hurt this pokemon who had hurt my mom! I quickly shook the dazed feeling out of my head and went in for another quick attack. To my horror, the fox disappeared from in front of me with a very angry glare. Before I had completely processed what had happened, I felt a horrible pain rip through my belly. The fox had appeared behind me and slashed me across the belly with its claws. I was sent flying through the air. What happened? Why was this happening? These thoughts raced in my mind as I flew through the air. I hit the ground hard and rolled a few times before coming to a stop a few feet from my mother. The pain was unbearable. I tried to cry out, but it seemed as though the breath had been knocked out of me. So I just laid there, sobbing.

“How pathetic,” came the voice of the human. I could not see him and his voice was slightly muted because of a loud ringing in my ears. “Time to cash in! Return Zoroark! Heheheh,” he said happily as he withdrew the fox into the capture device. I wanted so badly to just hurt him in any way I could, but I was paralyzed by pain. The way I had landed had put me facing my mother, but now I could barely see this man on the edge of my vision. He fished something out of his pocket and pointed it at my mother. I knew what it was, and I tried to scream. I tried to do anything to get this to stop, but I was just too weak. There was a bright flash and my mother was sucked into one of those red and white capture devices. I lay there sobbing uncontrollably. The man looked down at me and chuckled and shook his head. He kicked some dirt into my eyes, and then I lost consciousness.

I came to feeling awful physically and mentally. The pain in my underside was nearly unbearable, and my whole body felt sore. My waking thoughts were of my mother, and the events that had just transpired. She was gone. My mother was gone and I had no way of knowing where she was or if she was okay. I began to cry and cry. I had heard of this happening to others, but I thought my mom was the strongest! I closed my eyes and willed for this to all be just a dream. When I opened them, nothing was different. There was the pain, there were the tears, and I was alone.

Eventually, I managed to stand up. It was a pitch black cloudy night. My stomach growled, and I realized with or without mom, I was going to have to eat something. I looked around the battle-ravaged clearing and found where I had come up the slope with the aspear berries. I found the fruit sitting where I had left it surprisingly. Wasting no time, I ate as much as I could. That familiar warming sensation greeted me with every bite and improved my morale the slightest bit. However, I could not help but to think about how much my mother enjoyed aspear berries too. The thought made me cry even harder than I already was. To make things worse, it started raining right as I finished eating. I whined as the cold rain began to pelt my fur.

I wallowed a little bit longer in my sorrow until I came to my senses. I had to do something about this, and I had an idea of where to start. I would not be able to catch up with my dad and tell him what had happened, but I could go back home and get help there. There were a few families there who I know would help. Maybe they would know how to track down this man in grey. Yeah, I would do that. I had to do it for the sake of my mother! Through my pain and the awful weather, I resolved to travel back home. I picked up the last of the berries and headed back to the clearing. From there, I determined the direction back home. I was sure of it, even if I could barely see.

On I walked, for hours and hours. I began to get cold and weak, so I ate the last of the berries.  
The berries helped me to feel a bit better, but I still felt cold for some reason. I did not dare slow down though, I had to make it back for mom! On into the grey morning I walked and walked. An acute tiredness began to overtake me after a few hours of walking in the dismal grey daylight. I must have gotten a little bit turned around in the night, because I did not recognize the terrain around me. I had to keep telling myself to keep walking. It was weird, I do not remember much of what happened to me. I felt very cold and my thoughts became less and less sane and logical. I vaguely remember seeing lights up ahead and feeling mildly alarmed. I was not in the right place, but it did not matter. I needed shelter and rest. I did not want to be noticed by any humans, so I found a box of sorts among a pile of garbage and crawled under it.

\---------------

So that was it, I told him everything. Or at least, he knew the rest from there. I looked up at Will, he was now crying too. He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it. Instead he wrapped me up in his arms. We just sat for a while crying, waiting for the pain to pass.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, rate/comment or whatever, I'll be happy to see anything! Sorry that I got all sad on you, but it is necessary for the plot to move along :I


	4. What Mattered Most

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will has a big choice to make, what will he do?

(Will)

It was all so odd. I had just finished listening to Keelia tell her story, and now we were both crying. I could not help it, I had never heard something so sad in my whole life. Things had taken a turn for her, and she was really good at hiding it. My anger burned for whoever this man in grey was, but more importantly I was worried about Vui and Keelia.

“Oh…Key, why didn’t you tell me sooner? You must have been hurting and wanting to get help for your mother…Why didn’t you tell me?” I said after a few minutes of silence, my voice cracking on the word “mother.” Arceus, I sounded like such a wimp.

“It’s just-I just thought that you wouldn’t want to be bothered with my problems. You helped me in my time of need and I didn’t want to burden you.” Keelia replied in an almost guilty tone. “Especially not with how you said you felt earlier today. You seemed like you had enough of your own problems to deal with.”

“Tell me then Key, what are you planning on doing? Are you going to follow through with your original plan?” I asked, realizing that she had been harboring this pain for the whole day I spent with her. She whimpered pitifully in reply.

“I don’t know! I-I feel so safe and happy with you, but my mom is somewhere out there! I need to help her, but I don’t know where I am exactly, and I don’t want to leave you.” Keelia whined. She squirmed around in my arms so that she was now looking me in the eyes. I didn’t quite know how to respond to this, so I just wiped the matted fur beneath her eyes gently with my thumb.

It was right then, as I was looking at this heartbroken creature, that something became clear. It was something that I had known for a while, but chose not to acknowledge. I did not want tomorrow to come with its work and its school and its stress. I could not bear to fall back into the rut of the routine. It dawned on me anew that there was something wrong with living for tomorrow, with living for the next day off. Call me selfish, but I wanted to make a difference, and this was a golden opportunity.

The heart of the problem was that I wasn’t enjoying what I was doing. Some part of me knew that I just had to stick through this part, and that afterwards, life would get better. I would have the job, the house, the car, and everything else I could need. This picture always seemed to be a vague image of my future…just something I planned to do, but could never see myself doing. It was only when I was given this opportunity to just leave it all and help Keelia that I saw who I really was. I did not care if it left me with no income and an incomplete history of higher education. I just knew that if I kept on with what I was doing without Keelia, I might have lost my mind.

Suddenly, this crazy yet perfect idea popped into my mind. All at once it was a brilliant, foolish, dumb, and stupid one. A way to help my new best friend, and to discover what mattered most in my life. I did not care if it took years, I was going to help Key find her mother. A smile grew on my face the more I thought about it. Key must have noticed because she was looking at me with an expression that grew more puzzled by each passing moment.

“Key, I want to help you. I will go wherever you go until we find your mother. We will be in this together, you and me. I promise!” It felt so surreal to say this. It was like some part of me was just waiting for this day to gain its freedom. Key grinned and squirmed out of my grip, springing onto my lap, tail wagging wildly.

“Oh! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Will!” She shouted joyfully. Before I could resist, she was bombarding my cheeks with affectionate licks. I felt very odd and tickly, and I burst out laughing.

“Whoa! Key! Chill out you crazy little Eevee!” I declared, between the licks and the laughs. Eventually, when she and I had settled down a bit, I picked her up and jokingly used her white collar fur to wipe the drool off of my face. “Hey! What did you do that for?” she cried out in surprise.

“I know you were happy, but that was gross!” I jested with a mock disgusted look. She seemed to catch my humor because she replied by just nuzzling up against my chest. “So, before you ask, I am going to leave behind all of the ‘human things’ I was telling you about. You have shown me that I really don’t want to stick around with this life. I am more than content in helping you, even if it means that I am losing so many things that this society seems to value.” I did not even know why I was saying this, and the surreal feeling just would not go away. I felt like such a rebel, what with abandoning everything that a college student like me was expected to do. For some reason though, it felt so right at the same time.

“So when are we going to leave? Where are we going to go? How fast can you get re-” She started to bombard me with questions.

“Whoa there, slow down. We will figure it out tomorrow. I think if I line things up right, we can even be out of here by tomorrow evening!” I triumphantly stated. “For now, I think it is time we both got some shut-eye.”

“Okay! That sounds great!” Key yipped as I stood up and headed to the bedroom with her cradled in my arms. I let Key down before I undressed and settled in for bed. Instead of sleeping at the foot of the bed, Key opted to curl up right next to me with her face buried in my neck. She was just so adorable sometimes.

So I laid there, trying to catch some sleep. Minutes went by, and still I felt no less sleepy. Not wanting to disturb Key who was already fast asleep, I refrained from tossing and turning. Often times when I would have something very important on my mind, I would not be able to sleep and then end up staring at the ceiling for hours. It was almost as if I expected that spot of ceiling to suddenly spell out answers and quell my stress. I know I had seemed strong and sure of myself about leaving it all behind to help Key, but I just did not know what was going to happen to me. What was my employer going to say? Would I be able to make ends meet out there? What would my dad think? My dad had been really encouraging me to get out there and get a degree. He wanted the best for me, and that was to do better than he had. He never finished college, and times were tough when we were growing up. He and my mother had opted to travel the world and train their pokemon companions. He was a great man though, and he worked hard to raise me. What would he think about me just up and leaving this? I mean, I was an adult. I could make my own decisions. I would definitely have to call him, but my mind was set on what I was going to do with Key. I just hoped that he would understand.

Even more minutes went by, and I was still no closer to falling asleep than before. I could now feel Keelia’s warm breath on my neck. How did she fall asleep so fast? Suddenly though, the breaths on my neck became frantic, and Key began whine softly in her sleep. Her legs started to twitch and kick as well. I quickly realized that she was experiencing a bad dream, so I gently shook her awake. Knowing what had happened to her recently, the stress would be overwhelming, and a nightmare wouldn’t help. Key awoke with a start, and she whined loudly as she swiveled her head from side to side. Her eyes were tearing up and she was whispering something unintelligible.

“Bad dream, Key?” I quietly asked. She seemed to return to her senses at the sound of my voice. She looked over at me and slowly nodded, some of the tears in her eyes spilling out onto her face.

“Yeah, really bad dream,” she replied. “How do we know that we will find her…how do we know we will find my mom?” she continued. I did not have an honest answer that I could give to that. I knew that the chance of finding her was very unlikely, but I was going to try even if it bankrupted me.

“Don’t worry, we will find her one way or another,” I stated plainly, trying to hide the doubts that were swirling around in my mind. I just wished that I could have a surefire way to find Vui, but for now we had to start somewhere.

“Thank you Will, and for what it is worth, I’m just glad that we have each other,” she sighed.

“Heh, that is so cheesy, but it means a lot to me,” I commented with a tired half-smile. “Let’s try to get some sleep, okay? We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow.”

“Okay,” she said simply as she buried her head again into my neck. Again, she fell asleep first, her exhales becoming slower and coming at even intervals. The ceiling was not offering any answers; I sighed deeply. It took forever, but I finally slipped into clutches of slumber.

\------------

The sun was rising beautifully over Goldenrod City as I rode along the road to town. Keelia and I had gotten an early start that morning so that I could get a few things in line before we set out. I rode my bike to my workplace many hours before I was scheduled to come, which was after that day’s classes. I was going to leave today, and I only hoped that I could do so on good terms. The manager was a good woman, but I hoped my story would be enough. Keelia was again riding in my jacket, but this time she was riding with her head and front paws sticking out of the top of the zipper.

Cool wind buffeted our faces as I rolled into the parking lot of the grocery store. It felt different this particular time though. I did not have that typical bummed-out feeling that I usually would have when arriving at work. I was never excited for it because I never really had a reason to be. In the place of that bummed-out feeling, I was instead feeling very nervous. I would have left a notice if I would have known earlier, but of course that was not the case. I really hope she understood.

When I came to a halt at the bike rack, Key hopped down out of my jacket. Once I had secured my bike, albeit with sweaty hands, I stepped into the store with Keelia trotting next to me. My place of work, the produce section, was looking as fresh and appealing as ever. Conveniently enough, a few feet away stood my manager, Mrs. Wike. Her back was to me as she stocked a display with potatoes. She was not at all an intimidating woman. She was only about 5’5”, but her temper was intimidating. Most of the time, that side of her never came out. In all, she was a very understanding, kind, and capable leader. I glanced a Key quickly as to say, “Now or never,” and walked up to Mrs. Wike.

“Good morning Mrs. Wike, how are you doing?” I said in the most casual voice that I could muster. She quickly turned around and gazed at me for a moment with a confused expression.

“Well, good morning to you too Will, I’m doing well,” she said in a hesitant tone that matched her body language. There was an awkward moment of me rocking back and forth from my heels to my toes. I stole a look down to see Keelia glancing back and forth from me to Mrs. Wike. My manager happened to see the movement at my feet, because her countenance changed as she looked down there.

“Oh, who is that you have there? Is that a little Eevee I see?” Mrs. Wike asked with a grin, beaming down at Key. Keelia did not seem to appreciate her enthusiasm very much, and opted to take refuge behind my legs. Her bushy tail was still in plain view however. “Ha! She sure is a shy little thing,” the manager said, crouching down and looking up to me. “I’ve never known you to keep a ‘mon around Will. What is its name?”

“Her name is Keelia, and she is a very special friend of mine,” I said warmly with a reassuring smile aimed toward the canine at my feet. “And I know it is going to sound weird, but she is the reason why I am here today. You see, I’m leaving Goldenrod today” I stated, the nervousness from before now back in full force. Mrs. Wike’s confusion from earlier was again written on her features as she stood back up.

“I’m sorry, you’re leaving?” she stated in disbelief. I slowly nodded in reply. “Leaving? But why, and why does it have to do with this Eevee?” She sounded as concerned and confused as I thought she would angry. Mrs. Wike knew about my special ability to talk with pokemon, but it still didn’t diminish how awkward, rude, and just plain odd talking about this was.

“Please understand, I do not want to be rude or disrespectful in this, but I feel the need to help this little one.” I gestured down at Key. “I understand if you want to kill me for suddenly showing up and saying ‘I’m leaving’, or if you never want to see me again. All I really know right now is that I have to go, and it very well may be permanent” I finally sputtered out. My manager crossed her arms, which was a sign that she was getting fed up or impatient, and replied.

“What makes you think that it is okay to just up and leave like this? You are a good kid Will, I know that, so I know you must have your reasons. Tell me what is going on.” Her reply came nothing like the slap in the face that I had expected. Gathering my racing thoughts, I told her what was happening with me.

“A couple nights ago, I found Keelia freezing and slowly dying of a fever in a gutter. She was at first defensive and hostile toward me, but soon became friendly. I had her healed and took her home, where she warmed up to me quickly. I didn’t know that she was harboring such a painful past until she told me last night. I had never heard anything more depressing in my life. Her mother was taken from her by some man, and Keelia was beaten and left to fend for herself. I managed to find her, but I don’t want to think about what would have happened if I hadn’t.” I said in a serious tone. To my surprise, Mrs. Wike seemed to be taking it well, she was only gaping a little bit. “I have realized that I don’t enjoy what I do here and now with my life. I would want nothing more in my life right now than to help Keelia find her mother, or go flat broke in the process.” I almost could not believe that I was saying the words that I was saying, and especially to my boss! “I don’t know how to say it any other way, Mrs. Wike…Mrs. Wike?” I asked, not expecting at all what I was seeing. Mrs. Wike had closed the gap between her and me, and had put one of her hands on my shoulder. Confused (but mainly terrified), I looked down at her without anything to say.

“Let me tell you something Will, and please take it to heart,” she said in a very serious, somber tone. I could not read any anger in her voice, so I was quite confused about where this was going. She began to open up to me. “When I was a few years younger than you are now, I shared a very similar experience to what has happened to you. You see, I found an Eevee just like you did, abandoned in the woods behind my parents’ house. I took him in with the approval of my parents, and we became good friends. I would wait restlessly during the schooldays until the time I could go back home and play with my Eevee friend, who I had named Yanni. We also had a household Chikorita at the time, named Chika, who would always terrorize the timid creature. Frequently, their little skirmishes led to Yanni fleeing the house and hiding out in the woods for a while, hours in some instances. On one normal day, Chika was up to her antics and scared poor Yanni away. This time however, Yanni was gone longer than usual. He didn’t come back by the time the sun had set. He wasn’t anywhere to be found come the next morning. We posted signs, and considered where he could have gone. He was already captured once, so there was no way he was taken by a random trainer. After three days, there were no leads. I was heartbroken. As it would turn out and as far as we knew, Yanni was gone forever.” She paused as if to catch her breath and collect her thoughts. Her eyes where a little misty. “When I found Yanni, He was barely even a hatchling. He hardly even knew his parents, who never seemed to show up. He never knew the love of a father or mother.” She spoke all of these things with jaded eyes and even speech, like she was dwelling in the past. After a few moments, she shook her head as she seemed to come back to the present. I spoke up, breaking the sad silence.

“Wow Mrs. Wike, I didn’t know that happened to you, I’m sorry. Thank you for sharing though,” I said in a polite voice, even though I still did not understand where she was going with this story that she had told. I realized however, that I was out of hot water when she resumed.

“I understand how both of you feel,” she said looking at me and at Key, who had come out from behind my legs. “A big difference in our situations is that you can go, Will. You have the whole world before you, and you ultimately will choose your own path. So if you have come here for my approval on your…journey, I would have to allow you to go.” I heard her say this, but my brain only sort of registered it. I felt this huge nervous burden lift from my shoulders.

“So, you all will be fine here? You’re really okay with this?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“Yeah, we’ll make do here. You’ll definitely be missed! I wish that you didn’t have to go like this, we are losing a great worker” Mrs. Wike said with a chuckle.

“Well thank you very much. I’m flattered, really,” I laughed, rubbing the back of my head. Out of nowhere, Keelia spoke up from behind me.

“Will, I want to tell Mrs. Wike something, could you translate?” she said, which to Mrs. Wike probably sounded like a jumble of yips and barks.

“Sure, I can do that!” I replied.

“Do what? What is she saying there Will?” my manager asked with a curious tone.

“Keelia would like to tell you something, I’ll translate for her.”

“Well that’s something! It’s not every day you have a conversation with a Pokémon! Let’s hear what she has to say, Will.” Mrs. Wike crouched down again and looked Keelia in the eyes.

“Don’t worry Mrs. Wike, Will and I will find my mother. We’ll find her to honor the memory of Yanni! We’ll do it for him!” I translated as Key spoke confidently and excitedly. She stood there after I had finished translating and beamed at Mrs. Wike. She was just so amazing sometimes. Mrs. Wike sat there speechless for a little while at the little creature’s encouraging words. She then reached out and rubbed Key between her long ears, which Key allowed her to do.

“Thank you Keelia, that means a lot to me,” she spoke softly to the Eevee. The moment was cut short as a customer approached Mrs. Wike with a question regarding produce. She spoke to us quickly before she addressed the customer “Good luck on your journey, both of you! Hope to hear good news from you soon!” She said hurriedly as she turned to help the customer. With a grin aimed down at Keelia, I turned around and walked out of the store. We saddled up on my bike and departed, feeling much better than when we arrived.

\-------------

On the way back from the grocery store, we made a couple more additional quick stops. The first place that we went was the registrar’s office on the campus of Goldenrod University. It was still early enough in the semester for me to drop out of my classes (one of which was meeting at the time) and still be refunded the money that I paid for them. Without hesitation, I withdrew from all of them despite the odd looks I was getting from the employees. After all, it wasn’t every day that a student with a clean record came and just dropped out of all their classes. I do not blame them, but I never regretted it. This intense feeling of freedom came over me as I walked back out to my bike with tuition check in hand. I had no responsibilities to really speak of; I had essentially quit my job and dropped out of my classes. I thought about how I was, by all standards, a delinquent, but I was not going to let that define me or bring me down in any way.

Another short bike ride later and we were at the bank. I deposited some of the tuition refund check and cashed the rest for the imminent journey. With that done, Keelia and I headed back to the apartment complex. I became more and more nervous about having to tell my dad that I was resolutely leaving this season in my life. There really was no turning back, not that I would have if I could. I had to help Keelia, I just had to. Something more than just a desire to get away from the life I was living influenced my decision. Again I was subject to this feeling that I did not understand, but I did know that I should trust it. I have said it before, but I’ll say it again. I am weird.

When we arrived at the apartment complex, I took a route that I normally would not take once I entered the gates. Instead of heading to my block, I went over to the landlord’s office to let him know what was happening. I had forgotten when exactly my lease would expire, but he reminded me that it was going out in three weeks. That was convenient, I would not have to pay for an apartment I was not using. With that in line, we headed over to my apartment, much to Key’s delight. She was practically bouncing off the walls as I sorted through my clothes, camping gear, food, and other supplies in preparation for departing. I had a field day telling a few stories to Key about past camping experiences and explaining what each piece of camping equipment was for. It took a good while to throw everything together, but by the early afternoon I had finished packing. Keelia stood atop my fully loaded backpack with tail wagging and eyes shining.

“When are we leaving, Will?” She asked several variations of this question as I paced back and forth, making sure I had everything in order. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that I was indeed ready.

“Soon Key,” I muttered with a weak smile. “I still have to call my dad and tell him everything. I can’t help but to feel nervous about it.”

“It’ll be okay, just tell him how cute I am!” Key joked. It was enough to lighten up my mood, as I pulled out my cellphone and dialed my dad. There was only one ring before he answered.

“Hello, Will!” came his voice over the phone.

“Hey dad,” I said in a less than enthusiastic tone.

“What’s up? How was your first week of winter classes down there?”

“Good, good”

“Well that’s great, how is work?”

“Fine”

“Hey, what’s wrong Will? You sound out of it,” he said with concern. He knew me well, and could tell that something was stressing me even over the phone.

“I really need to tell you something dad, and I want you to understand that I am sorry if it bothers you,” I practically whispered.

“Tell me anything, son. What is going on?” he said in a more concerned voice than before. I sighed.

“I’m leaving college, and I’m leaving everything else I am doing here in Goldenrod. I have found something…much more worth my time and effort,” I stated with nervous finality.

“Leaving Goldenrod? Why? What is worth more to you?” he said loudly, surprise evident in his digitized voice. I went on to tell him how I meet Keelia, what happened to her, and my reasons for not wanting to stay. After I had finished, there was a long silence on the line.

“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree I suppose, right?” he said with a laugh. I did not expect this sort of reaction, and I was delighted that he took such a light stance on it.

“Heh, yeah I guess it’s true what they say. To your credit, your reason for leaving was actually somewhat normal! Going to take on the league and train your Pokémon friends hard, that was the dream, right?” I said lightheartedly, reflecting the good vibes I was getting back at him.

“Yeah, you know it, son. It is okay, some part of me kind of expected that you would make this phone call sooner or later. Heh, adventure is in your blood after all.”

“So my lease here expires in a couple of weeks, and I’m leaving today so I-”

“Don’t worry about it Will,” he interrupted, “I’ll bring the ol’ rustbucket down there to your apartment and get your stuff out and bring it back up here to Olivine.”

“Thanks dad, that really means a lot to me. I wish I could help but I really ne-”

“It is no problem,” he interrupted again, “I’ll take care of it,” he said in that dismissive father sort of way. “I know how you two must feel, and I understand.”

“Thank you dad, I really can’t begin to thank you enough fo-” I was interrupted again, but this time by Keelia, who said “Thank you!”

“Was that this Keelia I’ve heard so much about? What did she say?” my father laughed.

“She said ‘Thank you’ as well”

“Well, it is no problem!” There was a pause, which was punctuated by a long sigh from my father. “I want you to promise me something though, Will,” he spoke in a much more serious manner. I figured that there had to be some sort of kicker. “These kind of people that would do such a thing to a family of wild Pokémon…they are not the kind of people you want to cross. I don’t know who it is or what they are doing, but it is best to leave them to the authorities. Please promise me that Will.” It was then my turn to be surprised by the sudden change of conversation, but I obliged. Although I should probably note that I was still harboring that intense hatred for whoever that man in grey was.

“Yes sir, I promise,” I said seriously.

“Thank you Will,” he sighed. “Well then, what are you waiting for? Get out there with your new friend and start your search for Vui! I’ll do anything I can from up here! Best of Luck!”

“Thanks, I’m really, really happy that you are okay with this.”

“Mhm, it is no problem, just be safe for me! Bye then, love you!”

“Love you too, bye!” I had hardly gotten a breath out after hanging up when Key started off toward the door. I strapped on my backpack, did a quick pocket check, and then stepped out of the door with Keelia treading beside me. We walked out into the cool afternoon sun and headed toward the woods with the city and the apartments behind us. I did not look back. I did not want to.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again reader! Thanks for taking the time to read part of my weird little story. Drop a comment/rating and I will be happy. 
> 
> But yeah, that ending! A journey begins, but neither Will nor Keelia will expect what they are to find!


End file.
